South African has been ranked 74th out of 142 countries in the latest Legatum Prosperity Index‚ a global assessment of national prosperity based on wealth and wellbeing. The country’s best ranking was in the entrepreneur category where it was ranked 34th‚ with its worst ranking being 114 for health.Incidentally‚ the latest findings from the index suggest that the so-called American Dream is in jeopardy. In an unprecedented fall‚ the US dropped to 12th position in the worldwide prosperity rankings - with weakening performance across five of the index's eight sub-categories.Meanwhile‚ Scandinavian countries prospered most‚ with Norway‚ Denmark and Sweden topping the overall index as first‚ second and third respectively. A new generation of Asian 'Tiger Cubs' has also emerged‚ with Vietnam‚ Thailand‚ Malaysia‚ and Indonesia all scaling the rankings.In Europe‚ overall prosperity has increased‚ with Ireland‚ the Netherlands and Germany climbing the rankings (now eighth‚ tenth and 14th respectively). However‚ more than two thirds (24 out of 33) of European countries have seen their economy score decline since 2009.Generally, if you want to find the best performing economies, healthiest and most prosperous look for those with greatest homogeneity. They will be the leaders of the future; the survivors of the future.